Useful Information

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OHCHR in Cambodia

Background

The OHCHR Cambodia Country Office is the oldest field presence of OHCHR. It has been through several transformations and traces its origins back to the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).

The Country Office was established in October 1993. Resolution 1993/6 of the Commission on Human Rights, in accordance with the Paris Peace Accords, gave the then ‘United Nations Centre for Human Rights” a mandate which combines monitoring, protection and public reporting functions with technical assistance and advisory services. The Human Rights Centre, including its Cambodia office, was formally merged with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 1998. OHCHR operates in Cambodia at the request of successive United Nations resolutions, and with the agreement of the Royal Government. The Office is mandated to work closely with the Government, civil society organizations and interested Member States to support the Government’s duty to meet its obligations under the human rights treaties it has ratified.

OHCHR in Cambodia maintains a head office in Phnom Penh and a regional office in Battambang.

Activities

In Cambodia, the Office implements the High Commissioner’s global mandate to protect and promote human rights. It works with the government, the judicial and legislative bodies, civil society and other national and international actors, to support the consolidation of peace in Cambodia after three decades of war, violence and arbitrary use of power. It does so through the promotion of rule of law and compliance with human rights standards ratified by Cambodia. Since 1993, the office has been pursuing this effort in the following areas:

Supporting the development of a legal and institutional framework which protects the exercise of human rights, consistent with the international human rights standards enshrined in Cambodia’s Constitution;

Monitoring the implementation of laws and the actions of state institutions responsible for respecting rights, reporting problematic areas to the Government and other relevant actors for corrective action, and looking jointly for solutions;

Supporting the Government‘s cooperation with the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms, and promoting the ratification of international human rights treaties;

Supporting the capacity of civil society actors (human rights NGOs, women’s associations, media, trade unions, and others) to monitor and advocate for human rights, and protecting their activities through fostering a climate of mutual respect, dialogue and cooperation with the Government.

OHCHR also supports the mandate of the Special rapporteur on the human rights situation of Cambodia, appointed under successive HRC resolutions. The Special Rapporteur’s reports and statements are available at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/CountriesMandates/KH/Pages/SRCambodia.aspx

Contact Information

Headquarters

Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division (FOTCD)
Contact is in Geneva, Switzerland.